Apr 18, 2012

It's so easy to make, simply combine all the ingredients and simmer on the stove for less than 30 minutes and what you end up with is a thick, tangy sauce with the perfect balance of sweet and spice; perfect on chicken, pork or beef.

What I like about making my own sauce is that I can control what goes into it whether it's the amount of heat or sugar. You'd be surprised to learn that most BBQ sauces sold in the supermarket contain high fructose corn syrup. Did you know most brands of ketchup also contain HFCS too? Don't worry, I'm working on a ketchup recipe soon!

Here's a sneak peek at tomorrow's pulled pork recipe using this sauce...

Gina, I threw out my liquid smoke years ago when I learned it was essentially liquid carcinogen, no thanks!! But I miss the flavor in my homemade ribs and now I see them in your bbq as "all natural liquid smoke" and my ears perked up!! Where can I get that and is it truly all natural?? Thanks so much, can't wait to try this sauce recipe!

Liquid smoke is actually liquid smoke. There's nothing unnatural about it. It's literally just condensed smoke. The reason it's a carcinogen is that smokey things are actually carcinogenic! That nice burned crust on your chicken.. that crispy toast.. this is the price we pay for tasty things.

This is AWESOME!! I just used the last of our store bought BBQ sauce (on the amazing Crock Pot Kalua Pork!!), and had thought to do a search here on Skinnytaste to see if I could find a recipe....and here it is! Yay! Thank you very much!

Liquid smoke is a dark liquid that has a wood smoked flavor to it. You should be able to find it in any grocery store. It's a smalle bottle usually around the bbq sauces or worschetshire. I use it all the time. I add it to my sauce for meatloaf, bbq baked beans, marinades for steak etc... Go easy with it, depending on how much smokey flavor you like, a little can go a long way.

*sigh* I wish you'd have read my mind yesterday! I just read every label in the store and found TWO brands of barbeque sauce that didn't have HFCS. If I hadn't have bought some, I'd be making this over the weekend for the chicken I intend to barbeque in the oven.

I am from Texas, and we like our sauce on the vinegar-y side, but this (and the store bought stuff) should work in a pinch. I need to scale down my dad's sauce recipe.

I'm so excited to try this sauce!! I was just thinking about doing pulled BBQ chicken this week! But I do second this Gina-- any chance you might consider tweaking it to have a Texas style sauce? OR advice on how that might work? Thanks for all your fantastic recipes!

I can't wait to try this - I'm from Kansas City & love BBQ! (Just a tidbit of info that most people don't realize - Kansas City, MO is much more famous for it's BBQ than Kansas City, KS. Many people don't even realize that Kansas City is actually in MO.)

Oklahoma Joe's is the best! I find that folks that have never had OJ's love Gates...it is good but not comparable in my own opinion. Needless to say, we have a LOT of options on Missouri or Kansas side and they are all pretty darn great! Born and raised in Kansas :)

Wow Gina, I was looking for a good BBQ sauce recipe just last night but didn't really trust any of the sites. Well I trust you, so I will be making this just as soon as log off here and get to the store for the ingredients. I know I will not be disappointed. Thank you millions for all you do!!

Soon as I saw that this was KC Style BBQ sauce, I couldn't resist coming by to see it! I'm from there originally and was thinking I need to try making a bbq sauce at home so I can control the ingredients. Will be adding this to my bbq list for warmer months!

I'm another KC native so I can't wait to try this. The best sauce here used HFCS. Ick. By the way, Hunts now makes ketchup without HFCS. I have seen it at all the regular grocery stores and usually buy it at SuoerTarget.

Gina! I religiously check your blog every morning when the smokers at my office take their first break. I was so excited for this as I had pork in the crock pot for dinner tonight! It was a great addition to our meal and my husband has strengthened faith in my kitchen skills!

Thank you! BBQ sauce is cooking on the stove. Tried a bit on some leftover chicken, and the heavens rejoiced! This will wn me big points in the favorite daughter, favorite BFF, favorite girlfriend categories

Not spaghetti sauce. In the same aisle as the spaghetti sauce and puréed tomatoes, you will find cans that literally say "tomato sauce" ie Contadina makes one. If you get the small can (8 ounce), you will need two.

I just made this sauce and OMG! That is all that i can say! I am simply in heaven as this is to die for! I can't wait to add it to the pork loin that I have in the crockpot for the pulled pork recipe! Thank you so much for this awesome recipe!

Just found your sight, sounds great! Lots of awesome sounding recipes. I am trying to cut way back on sugar, corn syrup, ect. how could I do that in this recipe? Could I use splenda in place of ? Thanks

I'm sorry, I'm stuck on the tomato sauce thing too. I'm Australian and what we call tomato sauce is essentially the same as ketchup in the US (so won't be able to find it labeled as 'tomato sauce' in the supermarket). Are you able to describe it any further (eg. a mix of tomato paste and tomato puree)? I'm so keen to try this!

3/4 of a cup (which is the small 6 fl. oz can) of tomato paste plus 1 cup of water can be substituted for 2 cups of tomato sauce according to my Better Homes and Gardens cook book. I would mix this and then measure out 1 and 1/3 cups or even a little less. I don't think it has to be exact. I hope that makes sense (what you mix up will be 1 and 3/4 cups but it is the equivalent of 2 cups of tomato sauce).

Gina, I just tried this sauce, and it turned out amazingly well! I am a Kansas City native and BBQ lover, and it was everything I expected and more. My natural foods market didn't have all-natural liquid smoke, but they did have a smoke salt. I ended up grinding it down a little finer, but it was really a great substitute. Thanks again!

3/4 of a cup (which is the small 6 fl. oz can) of tomato paste plus 1 cup of water can be substituted for 2 cups of tomato sauce according to my Better Homes and Gardens cook book. I would mix this and then measure out 1 and 1/3 cups or even a little less. I don't think it has to be exact. I hope that makes sense (what you mix up will be 1 and 3/4 cups but it is the equivalent of 2 cups of tomato sauce).

I know you say to 'brush the sauce on to the meat the last 10 minutes on the grill'...But I am wondering what would happen if you put this sauce on the meat and set it in the fridge over night before cooking...Would it work at all like a marinade, or does it just work best added to the meat at the end (as you originally said)? THANKS! It looks great, I can't wait to try it either way! :)

OMG - I just made this in preparation for the mini bbq turkey meat loaves with bacon. This is amazing. I don't think I ever need to buy another bbq sauce ever again. And to save time for the next batch I measured out all the dry ingredients and put it in a little container so it is ready to go. All I need to do from there is mix the the canned and liquid ingrediants, add in the already measured out spices and I'll be good to go. Can't wait to see how the turkey meat loafs turn out - I am sure they will be yummy!

This was much too sweet for my taste. What is the best way to adjust this recipe so that it's less sweet and more like traditional BBQ sauce??? Thank you so much for the recipe. I really had no idea you could make your own BBQ sauce!

couple options. If you want more spice, add more cayenne or add some hot sauce/tobasco sauce. If you want to just tone down the sweet flavor, reduce the amount of Molasses a LITTLE. It's super sweet so I would say add maybe half the amount and taste and add a little at a time from there. The honey is much milder in flavor than the molasses but i'm sure that could be adjusted too.

OK...SO YUM!!!! Little too sweet for my buds, so I just added 1/2 more of the required measurements of spices and smoke...and viola..perfection! Also, to thicken up a bit, just add a bit of corn starch, like 1/2 tsp. Thanks Gina..you make clean eating fun!

I've just finished making some of this delicious BBQ sauce. I plan on using one cup of it for the Pulled Pork recipe and have some in a small container to brush on my turkey burgers. However, I still have 2 cups left. Can I freeze it?

Do you think maple syrup would work in place of the honey? I've made this many times since you first posted but we gave up honey a few months ago. I love this recipe and really hope I can still make it!

Made this tonight and was super happy with the result! I can't believe I made bbq sauce (to go along with your pulled pork recipe). I substituted brown sugar for the molasses because I didn't have molasses, and it turned out fine. For us, I think I'll half the cayenne and black pepper, but that's just a personal preference. Thanks!